


Destiny Bond

by Tenukii



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Drifloon is a treasure, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Original Pokemon Region, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 17:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tenukii/pseuds/Tenukii
Summary: Poe is a trainer determined to win all the gym badges with a single Pokémon—his Rotom BB-8.  Ben is a would-be breeder who’s impatient and reckless but also unexpectedly soft-hearted when it comes to his Pokémon.  When their paths cross, the secrets they keep from each other lead them to clash, yet they can’t seem to stay apart.





	1. Chapter 1

Poe’s Pokémon heard the Gothita’s cry before Poe himself did.  The round little Rotom suddenly straightened up in the air and gave off a spark of electricity from his energy “arms”; then he darted off into the field of tall grass the pair was passing.

“BB-8!  What are you doing?” Poe yelped.  “Get back here!”  Then he heard the cry too: “ _Goth-iiiii!_ ”  It was a squeaky little noise but drawn out at the end, like a scream of pain.  Suddenly worried for his own Pokémon, Poe plunged into the grass after him.

“BB-8!” Poe yelled.  Luckily, the Rotom hadn’t gotten far.  Poe found him only a few steps deep in the grass, hovering in the air and giving his own staticky cry as he stared at an ongoing Pokémon battle with his wide blue eyes.  A small Gothita was cowering in front of a Drifloon, staring up at the balloon-like Pokémon with terror in her gaze.  At first, Poe thought they were both wild Pokémon, but then he saw who must have been the Gothita’s trainer—a tall young man close to Poe’s age, dressed all in black—off to the side.

“Call her back!” Poe told him, assuming he must be a new trainer to have sent out such a low-level Pokémon in a battle.  “Drifloon’s a ghost-type; it’ll knock her out in one hit!”

“I know that!” the other trainer snapped.  His voice was surprisingly deep, and Poe jumped.  “I—I don’t have any other Pokémon with me!”  He sounded both angry and embarrassed, and Poe could understand why: he knew quite well what most people said about trainers who only had one Pokémon.  Still, the guy had no reason to be angry at _him_.

_I should just let him deal with having to run all the way back to the last Pokémon Center,_ Poe thought. . . but then BB-8 gave his cry again and gestured at the distressed Gothita.  Poe knew his Pokémon was right, of course.  It wasn’t fair to let the little thing get injured just because her owner was a jerk.

“Okay, buddy, you take care of this!” Poe called to the Rotom.  He added to the other trainer, “You, call her back.”  The man glared at Poe but pulled a Luxury Ball out of his pocket to absorb the petite Gothita. As she withdrew—looking much relieved—BB-8 darted forward to take her place.

He was just in time, it seemed: the Drifloon squeaked and used an Ominous Wind attack.  Although the Rotom was half ghost-type and thus especially vulnerable to Drifloon’s ghostly attack, Drifloon was part ghost-type as well.  In addition, BB-8 was at a much higher level and knew a training machine move: the powerful Shadow Ball.  His attack nearly wiped out the Drifloon in one hit.

“Floooooon,” it moaned, wobbling in the air as its large black eyes teared up.  It looked so distressed, Poe couldn’t help but feel sorry for it.  He pulled out a Pokéball and tossed it at the Drifloon.  The exhausted balloon was absorbed by the ball, which clicked shut and began to rattle.  One shake. . . two. . . three. . . _snap!_

“Yes!” Poe cheered.  “Gotcha!”  He scooped up the ball, which now contained the newly captured Drifloon, and stuffed it in his backpack.  He could heal the injured Pokémon at the nearest Pokémon Center before he released it.  “Good work, buddy!” Poe added to his Rotom.  BB-8 gave a happy cry and set off a few sparks.

Finally, Poe looked back at the other trainer.  He _looked_ like the kind of guy who would like Gothita’s evolution line: dark clothes that covered his entire body, longish dark hair, dark eyes that were still glaring at Poe.  In fact, the only thing _not_ dark about him was his pale skin.  He was kind of handsome, though, and Poe couldn’t help noticing he had quite a lovely mouth—or he _would_ , if his lips weren’t pressed together in a scowl.

“Why’re you out in the tall grass if you only have one Pokémon?” Poe scolded him.  Normally, he was a little nicer to strangers, but then normally, strangers were nicer to _him_.  “Especially such a weak one.  Wild Pokémon can attack at any moment if—”

“ _I know that!_ ” snarled the other trainer.  BB-8 drew back a little closer to Poe.

“Rotom?” he hissed, giving his own trainer a sidelong glance.

“I agree,” Poe growled to his Rotom.  “Come on, buddy.  Let’s get out of here.”  Handsome or not, the rude trainer wasn’t worth any more of Poe’s time.  He turned and pushed his way out of the grass, BB-8 following, until they were back on the route leading to the next town.

“Wait.”  And even though he told himself he should ignore it, Poe stopped when he heard the deep voice behind him.  He looked back over his shoulder to see the other trainer coming out of the grass after him.  BB-8 made a cautious noise, but Poe reached up a hand to pat him as he turned back around.

“I’m. . . I’m sorry,” the trainer in black mumbled.  He was looking down at the ground; then he cast his dark eyes up to glance at Poe without raising his head.  “I should thank you.  Princess would have fainted if not for you and your Rotom.”

“You named your Pokémon ‘Princess’?”  Poe grinned—not because he was making fun of the guy, but because he thought the idea of him fawning over a tiny little bow-covered Pokémon was oddly adorable.

“. . . Yeah.”  The stranger’s pale lips shifted into a smile.  It was a little smile, but a smile nonetheless.

“Well, I know all about only having one Pokémon!  This is BB-8.”  Poe gestured to his Rotom, who buzzed and gave the other trainer a polite bob in the air by way of acknowledgement.  “My one and only!”

“I see.  Princess isn’t my only Pokémon altogether,” the other boy said, rather haughtily.  “I just didn’t expect to battle on this trip.”

“Really?”  Poe raised an eyebrow at him and folded his arms.  BB-8 chittered.  _I don’t like his attitude either, buddy,_ Poe thought.

“Really,” snapped the stranger.  “I was only running to the Daycare Center to pick up her egg.  I’m surprised any wild Pokémon would challenge me.”

“You _were_ walking around in the tall grass.”

“It was quicker,” the boy said with a defensive tone.

“Okay, whatever.”  Poe shrugged.  “Look, I don’t have time to stand around and argue with you.  BB-8 and I have things to do.  Right?” he added to the Rotom, who made a staticky sound in agreement.  For just an instant, he thought the other boy looked disappointed, although he regulated his expression quickly.  Despite the attitude, Poe felt a little sorry for him, and Poe was too nice a person to be rude to the guy.

“We’re on our way to Steppe Town.  If you’re going that way too, we could travel together,” Poe suggested.  “That way, BB-8 could fight off any other wild Pokémon that bother us.”

The other trainer looked down at the Luxury Ball he still held in his hand, then glanced back at Poe.  “Well. . . all right.  I’m heading for Taiga City, but Steppe Town is on the way.”

“Hey, I’m going to Taiga City too!”  Poe grinned at the coincidence.  “I guess if we’re traveling that far together, you should know my name.  I’m Poe.”  He stuck out his hand, and after a moment of hesitation, the larger boy shook it.  His hand was unexpectedly warm and all but swallowed Poe’s.

“My name is Ben.”  He let go of Poe’s hand and put the Luxury Ball in a pocket of the long black duster he wore.  “Are you a trainer or a coordinator, or what?” he asked as they started down the route toward Steppe Town.  The area was a harsh terrain, near the foothills of a mountain range where few trees grew and most of the vegetation consisted of scrub grass.  Fortunately, Poe had chosen to travel through the area in the summer when the temperatures were bearable, if a bit chilly in the evenings.

Poe shrugged.  “Uh. . . I’m definitely not a coordinator.  I guess you could call me a trainer, but I don’t really battle competitively, just for fun.”  He reached up to pat his Rotom on the back.  “I like helping BB-8 get stronger too, though.  Mostly we just enjoy ourselves exploring.”  He glanced up at the taller boy stalking beside him.  “What do you do?”

“I’m a trainer.  I’m thinking about becoming a breeder though.”  Ben didn’t look at Poe as he spoke; instead, he gazed out at the landscape around them.  Though bleak, it was beautiful with some lakes visible in the distance and boulders dotting the grass on both sides of the route.

“Really.”  Poe exchanged a glance with BB-8.  Ben did seem to care about his Pokémon, but he also appeared to be rather reckless and impatient, not the best qualities for someone interested in a profession that took so much trial and error.  “Did you breed some of your Pokémon to get Princess?”

Ben shook his head, making his hair sway a little where it fell around his face.  “The trainer who owned her parents didn’t want the egg, so they left it at the daycare center.  I had been looking for a Gothita, so when I got word there was an abandoned egg, I came to get it.  It only just hatched a few hours ago.”

“Wow, you must have really wanted her,” Poe commented, impressed in spite of himself that the guy would put forth that much effort to get an egg that didn’t even come from his own Pokémon.

“Well, no one else would have wanted her,” murmured Ben, “since there was no way to know what her stats would be before she hatched.”

“You didn’t care about her stats?”

Ben shrugged.  “Stats are nice, but. . . there are so many unwanted Pokémon hatched as it is.  She couldn’t survive in the wild if they released her, so I wanted to take her.”

“I don’t think you’d make a very good breeder,” Poe said with a little smile.  Ben finally looked at him, but only to glare at him.  Poe was so much shorter than he, Ben had to look down to do so.

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” he snapped.

“Just what it sounds like,” Poe laughed outright.  He kind of enjoyed annoying the other trainer, especially because Ben seemed like the kind of person who was used to getting his way.  “For one thing, you’re way too short-tempered, I can tell.  It takes a lot of patience to breed Pokémon, hatch the egg, then start all over again if the baby’s stats aren’t good.”

“What would _you_ know?” Ben interrupted loftily.  “ _You’ve_ only got one Pokémon.”

Poe didn’t let it bother him; he only gave his Rotom another smile.  “Yeah, and he came from a breeder.  I’ve been around ‘em before.  But you didn’t let me finish.”  He paused until Ben looked over at him again, grumbling.

“Fine, why else would I not be a good breeder?”

“You’d keep every single Pokémon you hatched, regardless of stats, because you’d fall in love with every one of them.  Pretty soon, you’d be spending every Poke-yen you have feeding them all, and you wouldn’t be able to sleep in your bed because it would be full of Pokémon—you can’t tell me you don’t let some of them sleep with you—and. . . well, you get the idea.”  Poe glanced up at the taller boy and grinned when he saw that Ben was trying not to laugh.

“I. . . well. . . .”  He sighed and shook his head again, smiling now.  “You could be right.  They don’t _all_ sleep with me.  But I suppose I do spoil them.”  He paused and looked over Poe’s head at BB-8.  “And I have a feeling _that_ Pokémon sleeps in _your_ bed.”

“Maybe,” Poe allowed.  They smirked at each other, and even though Ben soon regulated his expression and looked away again, Poe decided he was going to enjoy the journey to Steppe Town.

\--

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

They reached Steppe Town about an hour later.  It was midafternoon by then, and Poe was glad for a break from traveling.  Not only did lunch seem to have occurred a very long time ago, making him ready to find a shop selling snacks, he also wanted to heal up BB-8 and the weary Drifloon from their battle.

“Do you need to pick up anything in town?” Poe asked Ben as they paused at the edge of the little community.  “I need a couple things, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

Ben blinked down at him.  “You mean you weren’t planning on stopping?”

“Hunh?  Why?”

The taller trainer gave him a know-it-all look.  “You must not have traveled this way before.  There’s no way we’ll reach Taiga City before night.”

“So?”  Poe shifted his weight from foot to foot impatiently; he was _really_ hungry.

“So I was planning on spending the night here,” Ben replied, sounding as exasperated as Poe was starting to feel.

“Are you kidding?”  Now Poe was the one to blink.  “And waste all that time?  We can get halfway to Taiga City before it gets dark!”  Ben was giving him an incredulous look, and suddenly Poe realized what the problem was.  “Wait, you mean you don’t camp out when you travel?  You want to like, stay in an inn or something?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Ben snapped, sounding a little defensive.

“It’s stupid expensive, that’s what’s wrong with it!” Poe retorted.  “And a waste of time, like I said.  We can heal our Pokémon at the Pokémon Center for free, buy some food for later, and. . . .”  He trailed off.  Ben was still glaring at him, but he was. . . blushing.  “You. . . _have_ camped out before, haven’t you?  How spoiled _are_ you?”

Ben flushed deeper, but now he looked more angry than embarrassed.  “What’s that supposed to mean, spoiled?  Just because I prefer not to sleep on the _ground_ —”

“Yeah, well maybe I can’t afford to sleep anywhere else!” Poe snapped up at him.  “I know you’re used to getting your way, but if you want to waste money staying in town, you’re on your own!”

“Getting _my_ way?”  Ben was nearly shouting at him.  “You’re the one who barged in and started bossing me around—”

“Because your poor Pokémon was about to get trounced by a balloon!” Poe yelled back.  “Because _you_ just assumed wild Pokémon wouldn’t bother you.  Who do you think you are, anyway?”

“Someone important!”  Ben broke off and bit his lip for a second, as if he’d said something he didn’t mean to, then continued, “Or I _will_ be, even if _you_ don’t think I’d be a good breeder.  What do you know anyway?  A trainer with only one Pokémon who battles ‘for fun’?  Why should I listen to _you_?”

Poe tried to think of something to hurl back at him, but then he realized that well. . . Ben was right.  Obnoxious, but right.  And it wasn’t anything Poe hadn’t heard before: _what kind of trainer only had one Pokémon?_   Certainly not a trainer who was going after gym badges. . . a trainer anxious to make progress toward Taiga City to face the fearsome dark-type Gym Leader there, with a single little Rotom.

_I can’t even tell him I’ve already got three gym badges,_ Poe thought, _because then he’d realize why I’m going to Taiga City, and he’d laugh at me. . . just like everyone else._   As annoying as Ben was, Poe found himself wanting to impress him.

“Never mind,” Poe finally muttered, after he had been silent far too long, staring at the ground.  “ _Don’t_ listen to me.”  BB-8 gave a whirr of static, sensing that Poe was upset, and hovered near his shoulder.  Poe went on, “Look, I’ve gotta get BB-8 to the Pokémon Center.  Maybe I’ll see you around in Taiga City later.”

“Poe—”  He jumped when Ben put a hand on his shoulder.  It was an awkward gesture, and when Poe looked up at him, Ben had a matching awkward expression on his face.  “I—uh, I’m sorry,” the taller trainer said.  “I shouldn’t have said that.  You _are_ a good trainer, if your Rotom is any indication.”  This time, Poe blushed, pleased with the compliment even though he felt like he should still be mad.

“Um, thanks.  And I—I’m sorry for what I said too.  I guess I just feel a little inadequate,” Poe told Ben as he managed a smile.  Ben squeezed his shoulder then let his hand drop.

“Uh, if—if I come with you, will you show me what to do?” Ben asked.  “How to camp out, I mean?  Without making fun of me?”

Poe’s smile changed to a grin.  “Of course, Ben!  It’ll be fun, I promise.  You’ll love it!  Come on, soon as I get my Pokémon healed up, we can pick out some food to take with us.”

“Okay,” Ben nodded.  He smiled a little as they started into town, although he appeared to be fighting it.

“You should smile more,” Poe told him.  “You look a lot nicer that way.”

“Nicer?” Ben asked.  “Apparently, I need to look _scarier_ if wild Pokémon keep jumping me.”

“I didn’t mean friendly kind of nice.”  Poe groaned as BB-8 dashed ahead of him and turned back to taunt him with a radio-like squeal.  “I meant you look _nice_ , like handsome.  Get back here, BB-8!”  When he finally caught up to the Rotom, he looked back to see Ben watching him and blushing even more than before.  Poe gestured for him to catch up to them.  “Hurry up before BB-8 leaves us both behind!”

By the time they found the Pokémon Center, Poe had managed to convince BB-8 to get in his Pokéball so he could by healed.  He handed over both BB-8’s Pokéball and the one he’d used to catch the Drifloon to Nurse Joy.

“So you _don’t_ just have one Pokémon anymore,” Ben pointed out as the nurse worked.

“Oh, I’m going to let the Drifloon go once it’s healed,” Poe told him.  “I just couldn’t leave it hurt or let it faint out there where something could happen to it.”

“And you think _I’m_ too soft to be a Pokémon breeder?”  Ben raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, leave me alone,” Poe joked.  He took the Pokéballs back from Nurse Joy, who smiled at him cheerfully and commended him on taking such good care of his Pokémon.  Poe tucked them into his backpack as he and Ben left in search of a food shop.

“Hopefully, BB-8’ll stay in his Pokéball until _after_ we finish shopping.”  Poe stopped at a cart near the Pokémon Center that sold Poké Puffs.  “He’d want to eat everything immediately!”

Ben looked over the rows of little cakes.  “I’m not sure what Princess likes yet, since she’s only just hatched.  What kind is BB-8’s favorite?”

“All?” Poe suggested with a chuckle.  “Actually, he likes the citrus and mint flavored ones the best.”  He asked the girl working at the cart for one of each flavor.  “Oh, and a sweet one too, please.”

“And now you’re buying a Poké Puff for that Drifloon,” Ben said in a deadpan tone.  Poe felt his face get warm.

“N-no, I wasn’t!  I just thought BB-8 might like something a little different.”

“Sure you did.”  Ben just shook his head at Poe’s protests, then bought a mocha flavored puff for Princess.  “If she doesn’t like it, I may eat it myself. . . .  It looks kind of good.”  Poe laughed and grabbed Ben’s arm after they’d paid, tugging him toward the other shops.

“Come on, I’m sure we can find some human food for you.  So you like sweets, hunh?”

Ben glanced down at Poe’s hands on his arm, making Poe aware that he kept hanging on to the other trainer like they were dating or something.  Poe let go, suddenly self-conscious, and continued walking more quietly.

“Uh, yeah,” Ben mumbled.  “But I guess we’d better get something healthy too.”

“Sure.  I bet we can find sandwiches or something.  And maybe breakfast since we’ll have a ways to go in the morning before we get to the city,” Poe mused as they came to a grocery store.  They bought enough food for the trip (probably _more_ than they needed, Poe thought, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared) then stopped at a Poké Mart for Poe to restock his supply of healing items and Poké Balls.

“For your single Pokémon,” Ben sniffed. . . but then he bought a few items for himself, “just in case,” he said.  When they were finished shopping, Poe and Ben left Steppe Town together, Poe devouring an apple on the way.  Ben gave the town a worried look over his shoulder, but Poe was determined the other trainer would going to enjoy his first night in the great outdoors—whether he wanted to or not.

A short distance from the town, Poe got his Pokéballs out of his backpack to let out BB-8 and the Drifloon.  BB-8 whirred and sparked, and the Drifloon gave a happy squeak, apparently not at all bitter at being defeated and captured.

“Let Princess out,” he urged Ben.  “We can feed ‘em all their Poké Puffs.”  Ben took Princess’s Luxury Ball out of his pocket and freed the little Gothita.  She smoothed out the bow-like feeler on her neck, then looked up at the other two Pokémon shyly.

“Rrrrotom!” BB-8 whirred, grinning at her.  Princess smiled at him, but her expression turned fearful when she saw the Drifloon who had attacked her.

“Ita,” Princess whimpered.  She toddled on her short legs over to Ben and hid behind him, peeking out past the hem of his duster.

“It’s okay,” he reassured her.  Ben crouched down and scooped up the tiny Pokémon in his large hands, then lifted her up to where the Drifloon floated in front of them.

“Floon?” the purple balloon queried.  It held out what Poe supposed was a hand—a heart-shaped appendage at the end of one of its strings—to Princess.  Princess stared at the heart, but then she finally reached out one of her own stumpy arms and touched it.

“Driflooooon!” squeaked the other Pokémon happily.

“Gothita!” Princess replied.

Poe laughed at the Pokémon (and, a little bit, at the expression of fatherly pride on Ben’s face as he regarded Princess), then declared, “Okay, now that we’re all friends, time for a snack!”  He took the citrus Poké Puff out of a paper bag the salesgirl had used to wrap the pastries.  “Here, BB-8!”

The Rotom made a beeping noise and grabbed the pastry from Poe using his electric arms.  Ben set Princess back on the ground again and gave her the mocha puff.  She looked at it, then at him, then back at the puff again.

“Just try it,” he told her, trying to hide a smile.  “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it.”

The Drifloon looked from BB-8 to Princess with their snacks and appeared to deflate a little.  Poe was suddenly extremely glad he had bought the sweet flavored puff too.  As he felt for it in the paper bag, the Drifloon perked up at the crinkling sound of paper and floated over to Poe to nudge the sack with the yellow X on its face.

“Here, you greedy little balloon.”  Poe gave the pink Poké Puff to the Drifloon, who grasped it in both heart hands and began to gnaw on it with a tiny round mouth in the center of its X.  Poe glanced up at Ben to find the other trainer giving him an “I told you so” look.

“I thought that one was for BB-8,” Ben pointed out.

Poe blushed and hissed, “I couldn’t send it away hungry, now could I?”  Ben just smiled at him, which made Poe blush a little deeper as he put the paper bag, containing the leftover mint Poké Puff, in his backpack for later.  _He really is handsome,_ Poe thought.  _And nice, when he wants to be.  I’m glad he came with me. . . ._

Princess had apparently decided she liked mocha, because she was the first to finish her Poké Puff, despite being the smallest of the three Pokémon.  The Drifloon munched away on the sweet puff then floated back over to Poe and gave him a nuzzle.

“Floon!” it declared.

“Er. . . you’re welcome?”  Poe patted it on the puff of white fluff on the top of its head as BB-8 gulped down the rest of his snack.

“Tum!” he squawked.

“I guess everyone’s finished.  We should get moving if you _insist_ on starting out for Taiga City,” Ben sniped at Poe as he reached down to pick Princess up again and set her on his shoulder.

“Really, you’re going to carry your Pokémon?” Poe shot back with a smirk.

“Her legs are short!”  Ben started walking down the route, leaving Poe with the task of releasing the Drifloon, something he had started to dread although he wouldn’t have admitted it to the other trainer.

“Okay, well, I’m glad you liked the Poké Puff,” he told the Drifloon in what he hoped was a tone of finality.  “You take care now.”

“Drif?”  It cocked its head to the side and looked at him as it bobbed up and down in the air.

“Go on, you’re free!”  Poe gestured rather lamely out toward the barren landscape surrounding them.  “I just didn’t want to leave you when you were hurt, but you can take care of yourself now!”  When the Drifloon just stared at him, Poe turned away and looked up at his Rotom.  “C’mon, BB-8, Ben and Princess are getting a head start!”

BB-8 whirred and darted ahead, and Poe followed, determined not to look back. . . not even when he heard a querulous “Floon?” from behind him.  He had almost caught up to Ben when he saw a flash of purple out of the corner of his eye.  He looked to see the Drifloon floating along beside him.

“No!”  Poe gritted his teeth.  “Go on, shoo!  I’m a one-Pokémon kind of guy!”

“. . . Drif?”  The Drifloon stopped again and looked at him.  Its round black eyes seemed larger and shinier than before.

“G-go away.”  When Poe failed to sound at all authoritative, he turned to look at Ben, who had stopped a few yards away and was watching them with a smug look on his face.  “ _You_ tell it!” Poe begged him.  “Your voice is deeper!”  Ben just shook his head and smirked.

“F-floooooon. . . .”  The Drifloon drooped and dangled its strings limply as tears overflowed its eyes.

“D-don’t do that!” Poe groaned.  “Look, BB-8 nearly knocked you out!  You’re mad at me for that, right?  And—and you wouldn’t want to be friends with a Rotom that almost defeated you!”

BB-8 darted over and made a harsh staticky noise at his trainer, then went to the sad Drifloon and took one of its heart-shaped hands in his appendage to comfort it.

“Give it up, Poe,” Ben laughed.  “Even your Rotom knows you’re a push-over.”

“W-well, I’m not—I’m not gonna name it ‘Princess’!” Poe snapped.

“But that implies you _are_ going to name it.”  Ben came back to them and put his hand on Poe’s shoulder like he had earlier.  “Quit trying to act cool, and adopt your balloon so we can get moving.”

Poe sighed, “Fine.”  He looked back at the Drifloon and mumbled, “All right, you can stay.  But you’ve got to keep up with us!”

“ _Foon!_ ”  The Drifloon squealed and dove at Poe, rubbing itself against his cheek and the side of his head adoringly.  When it pulled away, Ben started laughing again, gripping Poe’s shoulder.

“Y-your hair—”

Poe rolled his eyes; being the trainer of an electric-type Pokémon, he was used to static.  He met his new Drifloon’s shiny gaze and jerked his head in Ben’s direction.

“Get him.”

“ _Floooooon!_ ”  The Drifloon pounced on Ben and rolled around on top of his head.

“Gaah!  Stop, get off!”  Ben let go of Poe’s shoulder to flail his hands around the top of his head, trying to knock the Drifloon away.  It darted out of his reach, leaving his longer, straighter hair sticking up far worse than Poe’s, while Princess tried her best not to fall off Ben’s shoulder by clinging to the collar of his duster.  Poe laughed so hard, he nearly bent double.

“Now who’s not so cool?”  He smoothed down his own hair, then reached up to fix Ben’s.  It felt surprisingly soft between Poe’s fingers as he stroked it into place, and when Ben looked down at him, Poe drew back quickly.

_Ugh, what’s wrong with me?_   He thought as turned away and motioned for his Pokémon—two of them now—to follow him down the road toward Taiga City.  _He’s such a jerk, but. . . I like him so much._

“Well, what _are_ you going to name the Drifloon?” Ben asked after they had walked for a while in silence, save for occasional cries from the three Pokémon, who seemed to be getting to know one another.

“I dunno.  I don’t even know if it’s male or female.”  Poe eyed the Drifloon nervously.  “I’m. . . not sure how to tell.”

“Ask it?” Ben suggested.

Poe opened his mouth to retort something about what a dumb idea that was. . . until he realized it really _was_ the least awkward way of finding out.  He cleared his throat and looked over at the Drifloon, who was floating along just behind BB-8.

“Hey, Drifloon?”  It squeaked and looked back at him.   “I. . . guess I’ll do it like a professor.  Are you a boy. . . .”

The Drifloon squinted and shook its head/body from side to side.

“. . . . Or a girl?”

“Floon!”  A smile spread over the Drifloon’s X, and it—or, rather, _she_ bobbed up and down.

“Erm, she’s a girl,” Poe said to Ben.

“Good to know.”

Poe looked back at the Drifloon as he tried to think of a good name.  “So what should I call you?  Squeaky?”  She squeezed her eyes shut and shook herself “no” violently.  “Poof?”  The Drifloon shook “no” again and began trying to explain something in her own language, gesturing eagerly with her strings.  “Okay, never mind,” Poe interrupted her.  “How about a more elegant name?  Er. . . Celeste?”

“Floon!”  This time, a smile was visible on her X, and she gave the Drifloon version of a nod.

“Okay, Celeste it is!”  Poe smiled back, rather relieved it was all settled, then turned back to the road stretching ahead of them.

\--

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

They walked for nearly three hours before the sun began to set and its white light turned yellower, then nearly blue.  The air took on a definite chill, and Ben’s nagging for them to stop—which he had started an hour ago—grew so persistent, Poe finally gave in.  They started a campfire with the lighter Poe carried (Ben, naturally, didn’t have one) and ate the sandwiches they’d bought while the Pokémon divided up a pile of berries.

Ben didn’t talk much, either during the day or as they sat by the fire.  He volunteered no information about where he was from when Poe mentioned his own hometown, nor did he divulge anything about his Pokémon other than Princess.  While he was reticent about the past and present, the one thing Ben _would_ talk about was his future.  He dreamed of someday encountering the Legendary Pokémon Darkrai, and, when Ben became a breeder, he wanted to raise all twenty-eight Unown.

“ _Why_?” Poe laughed.  “Why raise all twenty-eight?”

“Because they’re there.”  Ben gave him the rare smile that made him look so handsome.  Poe gazed at him, how the fire caressed his face with golden light and reflected in his dark eyes.  The sun had completely set by then, and the moonless night pressed close around the small sphere of light the fire cast on the two trainers and their Pokémon.  As mysterious as Ben was, Poe felt safe with him.

“Are you traveling farther than Taiga City?” Ben asked Poe after they were quiet a moment.

Poe nodded.  “I’d like to visit all the cities in our region. . . someday, anyway.  What about you?”

“I. . . don’t know.”  Ben hesitated, then added, “I live in Taiga City.”

“Oh.”  Poe looked away from him and into the fire, which was starting to burn low.  Even though they had only known each other a few hours, and even though they had never mentioned traveling together beyond the city, Poe felt disappointed.

Still, he had to smile when he looked over at their Pokémon.  Princess had fallen asleep using Celeste’s fluffy hair as a pillow.  The Drifloon looked drowsy too, her round black eyes drooping.  BB-8 was slumped against her bottom half, snoring in a pattern of static.

“I guess we should get some rest too,” Poe commented.  Ben followed his gaze to the Pokémon.

“Princess would probably be more comfortable in her Pokéball,” he murmured, “but I don’t want to wake her up.  Do you think they’ll be warm enough?”

“Yeah, for now.  If the fire burns out and they get chilly, I’m sure they’ll let us know.”  Poe dug through his backpack to pull out the lightweight blanket he carried.  “I bet you don’t have anything to sleep on, do you?”

Ben cut his eyes sideways at Poe.  “No.”

Poe chuckled, “You’re the most under-prepared traveler I’ve ever met.  Good thing you’ve got me.”  He stood up and shook out the blanket, which was plenty big for both of them.  Spread on the stubbly grass, it was wide enough to cover a king-sized bed.  It wasn’t much thicker than a sheet, making it easy for Poe to carry, yet it was fairly warm.

“You’re the reason I’m out here instead of in a comfortable inn in Steppe Town,” Ben commented as he stood too to remove his coat and shoes.  Before Poe could decide whether to be hurt or not, the taller trainer went on, almost to himself, “But I’ll take you, just the same.”

They lay down perpendicular to the fire, not too close together, with one fold of the blanket beneath them and one over them.  Ben spread his duster over himself as well.  Poe cushioned his head in his arms and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the blanket combined with that of the fire on his face.  He could hear BB-8’s soft whirs, a comforting sound Poe was well accustomed to, along with an occasional squeak from Celeste as she finally slept.

Poe didn’t realize that he himself had fallen asleep until he awoke again.  He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the sky was still fully dark, and the fire had gone out.  Not even an ember glowed through the layer of ash on top, and when Poe turned on his back to look up at the sky, he could see it was thickly coated with stars his eyes hadn’t been able to pick out when the fire was lit.

After a moment, he realized he was cold.  _Maybe we **should** have stayed in town,_ Poe thought.  He turned back on his side and drew up his legs to conserve his body heat, but he shivered all the same.  Then he remembered the Pokémon and raised himself up on his arms to look over at them, but their spot by the fire’s remnants was empty.

“They went back in their Pokéballs.  They were cold.”  Ben’s deep voice, coming seemingly from out of nowhere, startled Poe.  He looked over at the other trainer who looked like a solid black lump under his covers, except for the white face looking back up at Poe.

“BB-8 too?”

“Yes.  I got his and Celeste’s Pokéballs out of your backpack.  They’re right there.”  Ben extended a hand from beneath the blanket and pointed to Poe’s bag; the two Pokéballs lay beside it.

“I must’ve been more tired than I thought,” Poe muttered as he lay back down and huddled under the blanket again.  “I didn’t even know you got up.”

He heard Ben laugh softly and say, “Yeah, you were pretty out of it.”

“Have you been awake all this time?” Poe asked him, suddenly feeling guilty.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made you come out here.”

“You didn’t.  I chose to come with you, remember?”  Ben had closed his eyes.  “I don’t sleep well most of the time anyway.”  Poe watched him for a moment, then tucked his head down to try to stay warmer.  A hard shiver shook him.

“Are you cold?”  Ben’s words came in a murmur.

“A. . . a little,” muttered Poe.  He was embarrassed to admit it since camping out had been his idea.  But then, Ben also had his coat to spread over his part of the blanket, while Poe didn’t have any extra layers for added warmth.  Ben was quiet at first; then he lifted his arm to make a tent out of the blanket.

“C’mere.”

Poe stared at Ben, or as much as he could in the near-darkness.  Was Ben offering to. . . hold him, to keep him warm?  Poe’s face felt as hot as the rest of him felt cold, yet he scooted over to the other trainer anyway.  Ben put his arm down over Poe’s body and pulled him close.  He _was_ warm.  Poe huddled against his broad chest and marveled at how good it felt—how _safe_ he felt with Ben’s arm draped over his back and the blanket and coat warming them both.  Poe closed his eyes with his cheek against Ben’s shirt and sighed in contentment.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.  Ben made a noise of acknowledgement, although it sounded a little embarrassed too.  Poe smiled to himself and snaked his arm under Ben’s to wrap it around the larger trainer and embrace him.  Ben made another noise, this one nervous.

“You’re warm,” Poe murmured.

“So. . . so are you.”  Poe felt a slight pressure on the top of his head; Ben must have rested his cheek on Poe’s hair.  Poe decided that was enough invitation to tell Ben what he had been thinking earlier.

“I’m going to miss you if you stay in Taiga City,” he whispered.  “I. . . kind of was hoping you’d keep traveling with me.  And BB-8.  Er, and Celeste.”

“Really?”  Ben’s arm tightened around him, a little.  “I thought maybe you’d be tired of me by now.”

“I’m not.  I like you.  You’re kind of a jerk sometimes, but. . . I like you.”  Poe breathed in deeply; the warm air smelled like Ben.  Poe wouldn’t have been able to describe what his scent was _like_ , exactly, but it was nice.  “No one who cares for his Pokémon as much as you do could be bad.”

Ben didn’t say anything for so long, Poe thought maybe it was a sign for him to shut up and go back to sleep.  But then the larger boy whispered, “I like you too.  Maybe. . . maybe I could leave home for a while.  It sounds like fun, what you said you do. . . just exploring.”

“It is,” Poe promised.  “And I could help you train Princess!  We could battle together, so she’d get experience, but BB-8 would keep her safe.  Well, and there’s Celeste now too.  I’ll need to train her as well.  Maybe—”

“Poe,” Ben interrupted, amusement in his voice.  “We should get some rest.  We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

“Okay, I guess you’re right,” Poe admitted.  As excited as he was at going on an adventure with Ben, it was still a long time until morning.  Both of them fell silent, and Poe savored the warmth of being nestled close to the other trainer until he was sleepy again.  Just before he dozed off, he felt Ben shift slightly beside him, then the touch of Ben’s lips against his forehead.

_I could get used to this_ , Poe thought as he fell asleep.

\--

Poe was awakened the next morning by a light shock from BB-8.  He was used to that: he had a tendency to sleep late, and his Rotom often popped out of his Pokéball to wake him.

“I’m up, I’m up,” Poe mumbled without opening his eyes, even as he tried to snuggle deeper under the blanket.  It took him a minute to remember Ben and realize that he was actually snuggling against the other trainer’s chest.  Poe opened his eyes to find that Ben was lying on his back with Poe draped across him, head on his chest.  He thought about just staying there, but BB-8 shocked him again, harder this time, on the back of his neck.

“ _Ow!_ ” Poe yelped.  He sat up and rubbed his neck with one hand as he glared at his Rotom.

“Hmmn?”  Ben dragged his eyes open and blinked up at Poe.  “ _Oh._ ”  He scrambled to sit up too.  “Uh. . . good morning.”

“Sorry to wake you up,” Poe apologized.  “Apparently _someone_ is hungry.”

Ben squinted up at the sky, now a bright blue as the sun edged its way upward.

“No, it’s okay,” he muttered.  “We’d better get moving if we want to get to Taiga City this morning.”

Poe divided up the remaining mint Poké Puff among the three Pokémon.  Princess turned up her nose at it—or she would have, if she’d had a visible nose.  As it was, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back haughtily until Ben handed her a Pecha berry instead.  Celeste was happy to share the puff with BB-8, however.  While the Pokémon ate, Ben helped Poe fold up the blanket and repack; then the two trainers and their Pokémon started back on the route to Taiga City.

Poe and Ben were eating sweet rolls they’d gotten the day before as they walked.  Poe glanced up at the taller trainer as he swallowed.

“Um, so. . . have you thought any more about travelling on with me?”

Ben nodded a little and mumbled, “I. . . I’d like to.  If you’ll have me.”

“Of course I will,” Poe grinned at him.

“I’m going to bring some of my other Pokémon, besides Princess,” Ben said, glancing at Poe with a little smile.  “I like your idea of training her while you train Celeste, but I’d feel better with a little extra back-up.”

“Probably a good idea,” Poe agreed.  “I guess I have a back-up Pokémon now, too.”  Celeste looked back at him with a glare and gave him a stern squeak, making Poe laugh.  “Okay, okay, you’re not a ‘back-up.’  Sorry.”

“I’m. . . I’m really glad you asked me to come with you,” Ben mumbled after they had walked on in silence for a little while.  “I like living in Taiga City a lot, but maybe it’s time for me to start actually working toward my—my dreams.”  He bit his lip and looked down at Poe.  “I guess that sounds kind of silly.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Poe protested.  “It’s good to have dreams.  But it’s also good to try to make them come true, too!”  He thought about his own dreams—earning all eight badges, maybe even becoming his region’s champion—and wished he were brave enough to tell Ben about them.  He still felt almost like he was lying to his new friend by not revealing his true goals.  _But I can’t do it right now,_ Poe thought.  _If I did, and he laughed at me or didn’t want to come with me anymore—I couldn’t stand it!_   He knew he’d have to tell Ben at _some_ point that he was collecting badges, but he would worry about that later.

“Um. . . Poe?”  Ben’s deep voice broke into his thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“I’m also glad you want me to come with you because. . . because I like you.  A lot.”  The words gave Poe a warm feeling deep inside.

“I like you a lot too.”  He reached out his hand and grasped Ben’s.  The other trainer blushed a little but folded his long, pale fingers over Poe’s hand and held it as they walked on.

Taiga City appeared on the horizon, stretching up toward the sky, after they’d been walking for about an hour.  It was the largest city Poe had been to so far, and he was impressed that Ben lived there.  He was afraid that Ben might want to show him around; Poe really _would_ have to lie then, since he couldn’t tell Ben he was going to challenge the gym leader that afternoon instead.  But Ben didn’t seem to want to talk about his plans either.

“I need to do a few things today if I’m going to go on a journey with you,” Ben said when they reached the end of the route at the city gates.  It was the only entrance into the city, and the route continued past as well, on to the next town.  “Would it be okay if we left tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, sure,” Poe nodded.  He hesitated a moment, wondering if Ben would offer to let him spend the night at his home.  When Ben didn’t, Poe went on, “I have some stuff I need to do too.  Do you want to meet here tomorrow when we’re ready to go?”

“Okay.  About this same time?”  Ben had let go of his hand, and they now stood facing one another, both feeling a bit awkward.

“Yeah.  That works.”  Poe looked over at BB-8 and Celeste.  “Okay, guys, time to say goodbye to Princess for a little while.”  Ben chuckled and scooped Princess up off his shoulder, then set her on the ground.

When she looked up at him, he urged her, “Go on, say goodbye!  You’ll see them again tomorrow.”

Celeste floated down and patted Princess on the head with one of her heart-shaped hands.  Princess shook Celeste’s hand solemnly before turning to BB-8.  The Rotom smiled at her—then gave a startled buzz when Princess closed her big blue eyes, leaned up on her tiny feet, and planted a kiss on him.  BB-8’s own eyes widened, and he sparked a little.  Both Poe and Ben started laughing.

“That’s so sweet,” Poe said when he caught his breath.  “She must have a crush on him.”

“You think it’s sweet?” Ben murmured.

Poe turned back to him.  “Well, yeah!  Don’t you?”

Ben didn’t answer; instead, he leaned down and touched his mouth to Poe’s, resting his hands on the shorter trainer’s shoulders.  Poe imagined he looked about as startled as BB-8 had, and he certainly felt like Ben’s kiss was setting off sparks inside him.

Ben straightened up, hands still on Poe’s shoulders, and mumbled, “ _I_ have a crush on _you_ , so. . . .”

“Y-you do?”  Poe beamed up at him.  “Because I feel the same way about you.”  He stood up on his toes to kiss Ben back, first just brushing his lips as Ben had done to him.  But when Ben slid his hands down to Poe’s back and pulled him closer, Poe opened his mouth and nudged Ben’s with the tip of his tongue.  Ben tensed up for a second, but then parted his lips and let Poe kiss him deeper.  Poe heard himself make a little whimpering moan as their tongues rubbed against each other.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, all three Pokémon were staring at them.  Poe’s face was hot, but he couldn’t quit smiling either.  He hated to separate from Ben even more now, but he comforted himself with the thought that they’d have lots of time together starting the very next day.

“Y-you’d better go run your errands,” Poe breathed.  “If I kiss you again, I don’t think I’ll be able to let you go.”  Ben’s pale cheeks were flushed as he nodded.

“Yeah, we’d, uh, we’d both better go,” Ben said.  He picked up Princess and settled her back on his shoulder, then reached out to grip Poe’s hand again.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Poe.  Take care of yourself, okay?”

“You too.”  Poe squeezed his hand before they let go and Ben disappeared through the city gates.  When the taller trainer was gone, Poe took a shaky breath and turned back to his Pokémon.  “All right, you two.  We’ve got a lot to do!”

BB-8 had been looking after Princess with a forlorn expression on his orange face, but he perked up at Poe’s words.  He hovered over Poe’s right shoulder and Celeste drifted over his left as they ventured into Taiga City.

\--

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

Poe’s first stop in Taiga City was at an inn.  As much as he wanted to explore, he thought that getting a shower was of a higher priority.  That accomplished, he took BB-8 and Celeste out into the city’s streets with two purposes: find the city’s gym and gather information about the dark-type Gym Leader he would soon be challenging.

Finding the gym was easy; it was located on the city’s main street, which ran perpendicular to the route by which Poe had entered.  The gym was a larger structure than Poe had expected, and it almost resembled a medieval castle with two spiraling turrets—except the entire structure appeared to be made of black glass.  It was beautiful but at the same time foreboding.

Poe chatted a moment with the gym guide standing out front, but he didn’t learn much: only that the Gym Leader used dark-type Pokémon, that Poe should use a fairy-type Pokémon (which Poe didn’t possess) against him, and that the Gym Leader was currently away but would return that afternoon.  That last fact was the only information of interest, but even that didn’t really matter since Poe hadn’t planned on challenging the leader that morning anyway.  As he wandered off in search of the Pokémon Center, Poe talked to everyone he met, asking about the Gym Leader.

“He’s got a _terrible_ temper,” one socialite told Poe.  “People say his favorite Pokémon is Houndoom, because it’s as dark and fiery as he is!”

“I’ve heard he always wears a mask,” said a Hex Maniac Poe met near the Pokémon Center, which he finally found a couple blocks from the gym.  “No one has ever seen his face or knows if he’s young or old!  It’s super spooky and super romantic!”  Poe nodded, trying to be polite.

“He calls himself Kylo Ren,” Poe learned from a collector.  “Pretty dumb name, if you ask me.  The ‘Ren’ part comes from a legion of elite trainers called the Knights of Ren. . . but _Kylo_?  Sounds like some kind of soft drink.”

By noon, Poe decided he had learned all he was going to learn about the Taiga City Gym Leader.  He bought lunch for himself and his Pokémon at a little café, then headed for a shop he had passed earlier on his wanderings: a small appliance store.

“Okay, buddy,” he told BB-8 as they and Celeste faced a row of appliances.  “You can’t stay in your normal form, since you’re part ghost-type like this—you’re weak to dark attacks!”  BB-8 chittered his agreement, so Poe gestured toward a washing machine at the end of the row.  “You’d better get in that one.  If this Kylo Ren guy has a Houndoom, you need to be strong against fire-type moves!”

BB-8 floated over to the washer and investigated it; then he suddenly leapt into its electric motor with a zapping sound.  Celeste gave a squeak of alarm when her new friend disappeared.  The washing machine took on a blue sheen, and two Rotom-like eyes blinked into existence just above its door.  Celeste’s own eyes widened.

“F-flooooon?” she queried.

“ _Rotom!_ ” bellowed BB-8, now comfortably housed within his new washer body.  Celeste cocked her body to the side, then shrugged her strings in acceptance.

Poe paid the shopkeeper to rent the washer for the afternoon—the man was used to having Rotom trainers among his customers—then coaxed both of his Pokémon back into their Poké Balls.  Not only was it much easier to travel with a Wash Rotom that way, Poe was also finally ready to battle through the Taiga City Gym.  Out front, the gym guide informed him that the Gym Leader had returned, and Poe could begin his challenge.

Tamping down the nervousness he felt rising in his chest, Poe entered the gym.  His usual gym strategy involved solving the puzzles and battling the apprentice trainers there, then returning to the Pokémon Center to heal BB-8 up before taking on the Gym Leader.  He followed that same strategy now, although his apprehension grew as he solved the puzzles—involving switching red laser beams on and off in a particular pattern—and battled two dark-type trainers.  They weren’t tough opponents in the least for the well-trained BB-8, but Poe knew the Gym Leader himself would be far stronger.

Just before the final area of the gym, where Poe knew the leader would be waiting, he encountered one last apprentice trainer, a young man with short red hair and cold, calculating eyes.  His dark-type Pokémon were at higher levels than those of the earlier trainers, and Poe’s apprehension hit him in waves as they battled.  _What if BB-8 isn’t strong enough for this?_ Poe worried.  _I don’t want him to be put in a lot of pain.  And if we can’t defeat the Gym Leader. . . what will I tell Ben?  How will I explain that I can’t travel on after all, not until I get the dark-type badge?_   Thinking of Ben was a mistake; it only distracted Poe and kept him from concentrating on commanding BB-8.  He finally pushed all thoughts of his crush aside and focused only on the battle at hand.

Once Poe cleared his mind of everything except the battle, he was able to defeat the other trainer; still, the match was closer than he would have liked.  He hurried to the Pokémon Center to heal BB-8, and once back inside the gym, Poe stood before the laser-gated entrance to the final area and rolled the Rotom’s Poké Ball between his fingers.

_This is it_ , Poe thought.  He drew in a breath and exhaled before pushing the button which turned off the lasers.  As he passed through the doorway now open to him, Poe got his first look at Kylo Ren.

The Hex Maniac had been right: the Gym Leader did wear a mask.  It appeared to be made of metal and covered his entire face with a pattern of thin bars, making him hardly seen human.  His body was swathed in a black, hooded cloak.  When the Gym Leader saw Poe, he straightened up and threw his shoulders back abruptly, as if he hadn’t expected his challenger to arrive so soon.  Once Kylo was standing at his full height, Poe realized just how tall and broad-shouldered he was.  Poe supposed he could understand how the Hex Maniac might find the mysterious Gym Leader romantic, but in Poe’s opinion, the whole get-up was a little pretentious.

_What does he need a mask for?_ Poe wondered as he stepped forward.  _Does he have some terrible injury?  Or is it just for show?_

“ _You_ want to challenge me?” Kylo asked, tilting his head to look down at the much shorter Poe.  “For the Midnight Badge?”  His voice was artificially deep, somehow filtered and altered by the mask he wore.  _Even more pretentious than the outfit,_ Poe decided.  He was also annoyed by how surprised the Gym Leader sounded.  _Just someone else who thinks I can’t battle.  Well, BB-8 and I will show him!_

“Yeah,” Poe replied with a glare up at what he assumed was the eye opening of the Gym Leader’s mask.  “We want to challenge you.  C’mon out, buddy!”  BB-8’s Poké Ball popped open, and the Wash Rotom jumped out, materializing on the ground between the two trainers.

“Rrrrrrotom!” he trilled.  Poe smiled at his Pokémon, but then he heard Kylo give a low chuckle.  Amplified by the mask, it sounded especially derisive.

“Well, come on!” Poe snapped.  “Let’s see _your_ Pokémon.”

Kylo Ren produced a Poké Ball from somewhere within his cloak, and when he flicked it open, a Spiritomb beamed itself out to face BB-8.  Poe swallowed hard; Spiritomb was pretty scary-looking, plus the species had a reputation for being mean.  _It suits **him** ,_ Poe thought with another glance at the Gym Leader.

“The challenger makes the first move,” Kylo informed him—something Poe knew, of course.  _Apparently, I’m taking too long to suit him,_ Poe decided.  _He’s so arrogant!_

“BB-8, use Thunder Shock,” Poe told his Pokémon.  The electric-type move could do a modest amount of damage, but Poe was hoping it would also paralyze the Spiritomb.  Unfortunately, the paralysis effect didn’t work, and Kylo struck back by ordering the Spiritomb to use a ghost-type attack, Ominous Wind.  The two Pokémon battled back and forth, chipping away at each other’s defenses, but the Spiritomb was steadily gaining ground.  Kylo would occasionally use a dark-type move instead, often Feint Attack, and he tried once to use Hypnosis.  After that attempt to hypnotize BB-8, Poe decided to use a move he had considered his secret weapon.  He hadn’t wanted to reveal it that early in the battle, but he was getting tired of seeing his Pokémon attacked. . . not to mention watching the cocky way Kylo Ren paced around behind the Spiritomb as he gave it commands.

Poe squirted BB-8 with a Potion to heal him up, then ordered him, “Use Signal Beam!”  To his immense satisfaction, Poe saw the Gym Leader start, drawing himself up to his full height as he had when Poe had first met him.  _Surprise!_ Poe thought with a smirk he didn’t bother hiding.  _Didn’t think he knew a bug-type move, did you?_

Bug-type moves were especially effective against dark-type Pokémon, and BB-8’s Signal Beam took a good portion of the Spiritomb’s energy.  Kylo directed his Pokémon to use Hypnosis again, but once more it failed.  BB-8’s second Signal Beam knocked out the Spiritomb, and the vacillating spiral in its left eye flickered out as it fainted.

“Impressive,” muttered Kylo Ren.  There was a note of grudging respect in the artificially deepened voice, but Poe felt a little thrill of pride—until he remembered the Gym Leader laughing at BB-8 and the scornful way he had questioned Poe’s intent to challenge him.  _I’m not here to impress him!_ Poe reminded himself.  _I’m only after that badge._

Kylo called out his next Pokémon, the dark/fire-type Houndoom mentioned by the socialite Poe had talked to.  Poe’s mouth twitched in a smirk; BB-8, being half water-type, was ready for this one!

“Aren’t you going to switch Pokémon?” the Gym Leader asked Poe.  His voice had lost its tone of respect and now sounded teasing—no, Poe thought, _mocking_.  “Teasing” implied Kylo was being playful, and surely that wasn’t the case.  _It’s like he already knows I don’t have any other Pokémon—well, besides Celeste, but she wouldn’t stand a chance—and he’s making fun of me,_ Poe thought.

“BB-8 can handle you all by himself,” Poe retorted.  “Use Hydro Pump, buddy!”

As Poe had expected, the fearsome-looking Houndoom lost quickly because of its weakness to the water attack.  Kylo didn’t really make much of an effort to delay the inevitable; he had the Houndoom use Howl to boost its attack power, followed by Bite on his next turn.  Poe knew what the Gym Leader was hoping for: that Bite would make BB-8 flinch and give the Houndoom another chance to attack.  BB-8 endured the attack like a trooper, though, and he finished off the Houndoom with a third blast of Hydro Pump.  The Wash Rotom looked back at Poe and sparked with pride when his trainer grinned at him.

“You’re amazing, BB-8!” Poe praised him.

“Don’t get cocky,” Kylo Ren growled.  “Either of you.”  He produced his third and final Poké Ball from his cloak.  “Take care of them, Bijou!”  A small, purple Sableye popped out of the ball and hopped from one of its feet to the other in front of BB-8.  The Sableye, who was a combination dark- and ghost-type Pokémon like Spiritomb, seemed a little too playful and mischievous to belong to the surly Kylo Ren.  It gave BB-8 a toothy grin, its gem-like blue eyes gleaming, and Poe had to work hard not to smile.  The little guy was sort of cute, really.  Poe knew it was probably the toughest of Kylo’s Pokémon, but it looked like it was there to have fun—unlike its trainer.

Still, Poe decided to go straight for the kill, and he called for BB-8 to use Signal Beam again.  It didn’t do nearly as much damage to the Sableye as it had to the Spiritomb, leading Poe’s nervousness to trickle back in.  The Sableye countered with a Feint Attack that did considerable harm to BB-8.  Both the Rotom and his trainer winced.

Poe used his last healing potion on BB-8 to get him back to full health, then ordered another Signal Beam.  He expected BB-8 to get the first move since the Rotom had a high speed stat, but to his dismay, Kylo Ren commanded the Sableye to use Shadow Sneak.  It was a priority move, meaning that the Pokémon who used it got the first turn.  Poe couldn’t hold back a groan as the Sableye struck BB-8.

“Hang in there, buddy!” Poe called to his Rotom.  BB-8 used Signal Beam as commanded, and the two Pokémon continued trading blows.  Poe noticed Kylo getting more agitated, and his pacing grew less cocky and more erratic.  Still, Poe wasn’t sure at all that BB-8 was going to win the battle.  Soon the Rotom’s energy was so low, Poe feared he would be taken out with one more hit.  The aura of electricity that surrounded BB-8 dimmed, and his ovoid blue eyes half-closed with exhaustion.  The Sableye looked tired too, but Poe knew it would still get the first attack if Kylo told it to use Shadow Sneak again.  Still, there was nothing to do but try, and hope that BB-8 would somehow make it.

“BB-8—” Poe began, but he was interrupted by a vibration in his pocket: Celeste was shaking her Poké Ball.  Before Poe could continue, the Drifloon popped out, appearing in the air beside him and “floon”ing anxiously.

“No, Celeste, you can’t fight!” Poe told her.  “You’ll get taken out in one hit!”  To his humiliation, the other trainer started laughing again.

“You won’t let your female Pokémon fight?” Kylo taunted.  “How sexist.”

“I haven’t started training her!” Poe yelled at him; then he turned back to the concerned Drifloon.  “You’re a brave girl, but no!  I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“ _Floon!_ ”  Celeste grabbed Poe by the shoulders with her heart-shaped hands and gave him a sound shake.  “ ** _Drif!  FLOON!_** ”  Kylo Ren nearly bent double with laughter at the sight of Poe getting scolded by a purple balloon, and Poe felt his cheeks flare with a humiliated blush.  Still, he couldn’t be upset with Celeste: the worried look in her round, black eyes told him she only wanted to help BB-8.

_I’m going to lose anyway,_ Poe realized, _and he already thinks I’m an idiot.  I’ll take them both to the Pokémon Center right away and get them healed; then I can train them before I face him again._

“Okay, Celeste,” Poe finally acquiesced, “get in there.  Come back, BB-8!”

BB-8 gave a nervous chitter but managed a smile at Celeste as he retreated back into his Poké Ball.  The Drifloon took his place, a determined frown on the yellow X marking her face.

“I almost hate to do this,” Kylo chuckled.  “Sableye, use Shadow Sneak!”

The Sableye flashed its toothy grin as it attacked.  Poe felt heartsick as his brave balloon took the hit and immediately collapsed, deflating a little as she drifted to the floor.  _She didn’t even get a hit in_ , he thought.  And yet—there was a bit of a smirk on that yellow X, too.  Poe didn’t understand. . . until a little ball of energy emanated from Celeste’s X and zipped across the space between the two Pokémon to hit the Sableye smack between its crystalline eyes.

“ _Aftermath_!” Poe cried out loud.  “Her ability is Aftermath!”  He started grinning and couldn’t stop.  The Aftermath ability meant that a Pokémon who fainted could get revenge on its attacker by hitting it with one last strike of its own.  By knocking Celeste out, the Sableye had inadvertently given her the chance to attack.

The Sableye tottered on its short legs, then fell over with a thump.  Even as consciousness faded for Celeste, the Sableye fainted too; Celeste’s Aftermath had taken the last of its energy.  BB-8 burst out of his Poké Ball again, still tired but conscious.  He looked down at Celeste and buzzed softly before he glanced back at Poe.

“We did it, buddy!” Poe yelled.  “We won!”  He ran forward and threw his arms around BB-8’s square washing machine body, giving the Rotom a tight hug (and ignoring the little shock he felt).  Then Poe knelt down beside the passed-out Celeste and tenderly scooped up the Drifloon.

“Don’t worry, baby girl.  I’ll get you healed in no time.”  He planted a kiss on her forehead, just below her soft puff of hair.  BB-8 hummed affectionately.

Poe was so excited at the unexpected victory, he almost forgot all about Kylo Ren and even the Midnight Badge; all that mattered was how proud he was of his Pokémon.  Finally, he looked up to see the Gym Leader a few feet away, watching him.  The Sableye was gone, absorbed back into its own Poké Ball.  At first, Poe was a little embarrassed to be caught fawning over his Pokémon, but then he realized he shouldn’t care.  His love for them, and theirs for him, was what had helped him to win the battle, and that was more important than all the Gym Badges in the world.

Poe put Celeste back in her Poké Ball, then opened BB-8’s for him.  When the Rotom scowled, Poe chuckled, “Sorry, buddy, but you need to rest.  I’ll let you back out soon as we visit the Pokémon Center—and we’ll get you out of that washing machine too!”  BB-8 relented and retreated to his ball; then Poe stood up and faced the Gym Leader.

“You surprised me,” said Kylo Ren.  His voice might have been softer than before, but it was hard for Poe to tell with the distortion of his mask.

“Yeah, well.  You shouldn’t make assumptions about people,” Poe countered.  “Or Pokémon.”  
  
“You’ve certainly shown me _that_.  But you would do well to remember it too.”

Poe started to ask what _that_ was supposed to mean, but he kept his mouth shut when he saw the Gym Leader withdraw the Midnight Badge from his cloak.  Poe just wanted to get the badge and get out of there.

“You’re earned this.”  Kylo held the badge out, resting on the open palm of his black-gloved hand.  Like the others Poe had collected, its outline and details were traced in copper, with enamel making up the colored parts of the badge.  It was round and depicted a red crescent moon curved upward like a smile; the black enamel making up the sky cradled in the moon was speckled with silvery glitter.

_It’s beautiful,_ Poe thought, _the prettiest one I’ve gotten so far!_   He closed his fingers over it and took it from Kylo’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you,” Poe mumbled.  The Gym Leader dropped his hand to his side as Poe slipped the Midnight Badge into the case which held his other three gym badges.

“You can leave through the door behind me,” Kylo told him, “so you don’t have to go back through the puzzles again.  It will take you out to the street.”  Poe nodded and started for the door, ready to be done with the strange Gym Leader.  As Poe passed him, Kylo murmured, “Take care of yourself.”  For some reason, the rather trite sentiment touched Poe.

“You too,” he muttered in return before he left Kylo Ren alone in his gym.

\--

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

Poe was tired but contented when he went to bed in the inn that evening.  After his gym battle, he had healed both his Pokémon, returned BB-8’s temporary washing machine body, and bought all three of them dinner to celebrate.  Celeste had even gotten an extra Poké Puff for dessert as a reward for her sacrifice during the battle, although the kind Drifloon shared it with BB-8.

Poe sprawled out on the bed, his short body not coming anywhere close to taking up all of the available space, even with BB-8 and Celeste piled up on the pillow Poe wasn’t using.  He caught himself wishing Ben were there beside him.  Poe’s face grew warm as he thought about snuggling with the other trainer. . . and kissing him.  Kissing Ben had felt so _nice_.

_I wonder where he is,_ Poe mused as he waited to fall asleep.  _Is he thinking about me?  What if he changes his mind and doesn’t want to come with me, now that he’s been back home?_   Poe tried not to think about that—no point in worrying about something that probably wouldn’t even happen—but that led to another worry: _I can’t keep hiding what I’m doing from him.  If we’re traveling together, he’s going to find out that I’m earning badges, so tomorrow, I’ve got to tell him I came here to get the Midnight Badge!_

Poe had been lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of his room, but now he turned on his stomach with one arm under his pillow and the other hugging a fold of the blanket to his chest.  _And even if I didn’t **have** to be honest with him. . . I want to.  I can’t be keeping secrets from my. . . my boyfriend._   He smiled into the pillow.  **_Are_** _we boyfriends?  All he did was kiss me, but. . . ._

Although he had only recently decided to earn the Gym Badges, it had been several years since Poe started his first journey around his region, at the age of ten.  He made friends wherever he went, but none of his relationships had ever become more than that.  Poe had never _wanted_ more than that, believing that BB-8 was all he needed to be happy.  Then out of nowhere, Celeste had drifted into his life and made him accept that he could share his heart with more than one Pokémon.  Now he wanted to share it with another person, too.

Just as Poe yawned and let his eyes droop closed, he felt something nudging his arm.  Opening one eye again, he could make out a round shape very close to his face in the dark room.  On the next nudge, something soft brushed his cheek: Drifloon fluff.  BB-8 gave one of his staticky snores, and Poe chuckled softly.  Apparently, Celeste was lonely.

“Can’t sleep?” he whispered to her.  “Okay, c’mere.”  He let go of the blanket to wrap his arm around the balloon Pokémon and cuddle her close.  She gave a quiet squeak of contentment and nuzzled his shoulder.  He felt a heart-shaped hand pat his cheek right before he fell asleep himself.

\--

The next morning, Poe got to their designated meeting spot on the route a little early.  He perched on a short fence bordering the side of the road opposite the city gates, watching BB-8 and Celeste playing in the cool morning air.  As the minutes passed, Poe wondered what lay ahead for him.  He knew that Alloy City, the closest city to Taiga, had a Pokémon Gym too, but a smaller town lay between them.  That was probably just as well, since Poe didn’t know anything about the gym or its leader, not even what type of Pokémon she or he used.

_Maybe Ben knows,_ Poe mused.  Thinking of Ben made him realize he had been waiting for quite a while now, and he checked the time: about ten minutes past when they were supposed to meet.  Ben hadn’t seemed like the type to be late for anything. . . _but then, I don’t really know much about him.  And maybe something came up,_ Poe reasoned.

But the morning grew later, and Ben still didn’t appear.  Poe was usually optimistic, and he didn’t worry too much at first, even when the Pokémon got bored and started bugging him for attention.  He patted Celeste’s fluff in a distracted way as he checked the time again.  Thirty minutes late.  The next time he looked, forty-five minutes had passed since he was supposed to meet Ben.

_He’s not coming,_ Poe thought.  He tried to tell himself he didn’t _know_ that, tried to believe something really might have delayed the other trainer all that time.  BB-8 and Celeste were both sitting on the ground at his feet now, looking up at him with expectation.

“We’re just gonna wait a little longer,” Poe told them.  At times, he wasn’t sure just how much nuance of the human world Pokémon understood, but when he saw the look the Rotom and Drifloon exchanged, he felt himself flush in embarrassment.  _Even they know he’s not coming_.

Still, Poe waited fifteen more minutes.  Then, once one hour had passed, he had to admit that he had been stood up.  He couldn’t even feel angry about it, only hurt and far sadder than he would have expected.  _Maybe he really did mean to come with me yesterday,_ Poe told himself as he clambered down off the fence and shrugged into his backpack.  _Maybe he wasn’t lying to me all along, and something happened to change his mind._   Poe, who tried to see the best in everyone, wanted to believe that, as much for Ben’s sake as for his own pride.  If he had had any idea of where to look, he might even have ventured back into Taiga City to search for Ben, but he knew the effort would be fruitless in a city of that size.

“C’mon, guys,” he told BB-8 and Celeste.  The two Pokémon floated back into the air and over to his side.  “Let’s go,” Poe muttered.  “We might still be able to reach the next town today.”  Celeste gave a soft squeak at the waver in Poe’s voice that he tried hard to mask.

“Floon?”

“I’m okay.  Let’s just get out of here.”  Poe started trudging down the route, away from the city, and after a moment, his Pokémon followed.

He had traveled no more than a hundred paces when he heard his name shouted from somewhere behind him.  Poe stopped short and spun around, his heart feeling as if it had shot from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head.

“Ben!” he called in response.  The other trainer was running to catch up to him, a little out of breath. _I was right to wait!_ Poe thought.  _He was just late, that’s all._   But the smile that had sprung to Poe’s mouth faded as Ben drew closer and stopped a few yards away from him.  Ben had Princess on his shoulder—the little Gothita had been clinging to his neck for dear life as he ran—but he carried nothing with him, no bag or anything else to hold supplies.  What was more, he wasn’t smiling as he looked down at Poe.  In fact, his pale face looked distinctly unhappy.

“You’re not coming with me, are you?” Poe murmured.

“Poe. . . .”  Ben looked away from him, raked his fingers through his shaggy hair, then looked back.  “I—there’s a reason, you. . . .”  He stopped, and Princess looked up at him with a concerned frown.  BB-8 had started to dart over to greet her, but he stopped midway, aware of the tension between the two humans.

“Why?  What’s wrong?” Poe persisted.  He felt his hurt and embarrassment returning, and this time, they made him feel a little angry, too.  “Why’d you lie to me?”

“I didn’t!” Ben snapped, his dark eyes almost glaring.  “I just—I don’t think you’re going to want us to travel together.”  Poe blinked and opened his mouth to question Ben further, but the taller trainer stopped him.  “You’ll see why.  Let me show you my Pokémon.”

As Poe watched, perplexed, Ben scooped three Poké Balls out of the pocket of his duster.  He clicked them open, and three corresponding Pokémon materialized between him and Poe: a Spiritomb, a Houndoom, a Sableye.  The Sableye gazed up at Celeste with its crystalline blue eyes and winked.  Poe stared at the Pokémon, and it took him a second to understand.

“I don’t. . . you’re. . . you’re the Gym Leader?  You’re Kylo Ren?”  He flicked his eyes up to Ben, who nodded without speaking.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Poe cried.  “You said—you said you wanted to be a breeder!  You _did_ lie!”

“No, I _didn’t_!”  Ben clenched the empty Poké Balls in his fist.  “I _do_ want to be a breeder.  And I never said I _wasn’t_ a Gym Leader—you never asked.”

“Well, I don’t go around asking everyone I meet if they’re Gym Leaders!” retorted Poe.  “It’s the kind of thing I would expect you to _tell_ a person!  Even if you didn’t tell me before, why didn’t you let me know who you were when I challenged you?”

“It—it wouldn’t have been fair,” Ben protested.  “You might have been distracted. . . and if you won, you might have thought I _let_ you win.”

Now besides being hurt and angry, both at being stood up and being misled, Poe felt intensely stupid to have not recognized Kylo Ren as Ben.  Even with the mask and voice distortion, shouldn’t Ben have been familiar to him—his height and shape, that cocky way he moved?

“I don’t need you to let me win,” Poe growled to hide how dumb he was feeling.  “And I don’t need you laughing at me either—or lying to me!”

“I wasn’t laughing at you!” Ben snarled back.

“Yes, you _were_ —at me _and_ my Pokémon!  I heard you!” yelled Poe.

Ben went on as if he hadn’t heard, “And if you think not telling you something is lying to you—then _you_ lied to _me_!  Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Taiga City to get the Gym Badge?  You never said a word about it!”

“Because if I did, you would have just said I couldn’t do it with one Pokémon!  That’s what everybody _always_ says.”  Poe glared up at the other trainer, ignoring the nervous chitters BB-8 was making and Celeste’s “floon”ing as she tried to calm him down.  “But I had three badges already, and now I have four, _and_ Celeste!”

“I might have said that when we first met,” Ben told him, a little softer than he had been speaking before.  “But not after—not when we got to the city.  You made me believe in you.”  Poe’s attitude softened too, but then he remembered Ben—as Kylo Ren—laughing, and how Poe had waited for over an hour before Ben finally decided to show up to meet him.

Poe gritted his teeth before snarling, “Yeah, you believed in me—so why were you so surprised when I challenged you?  And why were you so late this morning?  It took you that long to decide if I was worth coming after?”

Ben literally threw his hands in the air as he cried, “Why _wouldn’t_ I be surprised?  I had no idea you were coming to the gym, none!  And this morning—I. . . .”  He looked down at the three Pokémon before him.  All of them were staring at either him or Poe, the Spiritomb swirling anxiously and the Houndoom now seated on its haunches, head cocked to one side.  The Sableye had been following the conversation with its head turning back and forth like it was watching a tennis match.

“I didn’t think you’d want me to come with you,” Ben finally said, “not once you knew who I really was.  You really disliked ‘Kylo Ren,’ I could tell.”

“I. . . .” Poe began, then trailed off.  The Sableye was looking at Poe raptly, its toothy mouth open in a little grin.  _Even his stupid Pokémon think I’m funny,_ Poe sulked.  “I _don’t_ want you to come with me!” he blurted out at Ben.  Celeste gave an alarmed squeak, and BB-8 sparked, but Poe didn’t pay any attention to them.  “And yeah, it’s because now I know who you really are—not because who you really are is a Gym Leader, but because you’re a _jerk_!  I don’t ever want to see you again!”

“. . . Eye, eye, eye,” groaned the Sableye, but at least it shut its mouth after that.

Ben had clamped his mouth shut too, and Poe could see his jaw standing out as he clenched it.  He looked wounded and furious all at once.  At first, he didn’t say anything at all to Poe, only snarled at his Pokémon, “Back in your balls!”  The three dark-types obeyed; despite their attitudes, they seemed truly to respect their trainer, or at least to fear his wrath.  When the Poké Balls clicked shut, Ben shoved them back in his pocket.

“Ita?” Princess chirped, tugging on a lock of Ben’s hair then pointing at BB-8, or maybe at Poe.  He couldn’t really be sure since she only had a little nub for an arm.  Ben’s jaw shifted, then relaxed slightly.

“If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me,” he muttered.  Poe’s throat began to ache, and he wanted to say he had changed his mind already.  He _did_ want Ben with him, he knew, but his pride kept him silent.

Ben turned and stalked away, back toward Taiga City.  Princess looked back over his shoulder, her large blue eyes tearing up.  That completely undid Poe, and he had to turn away before he started crying too.

“Come on,” he growled at his Pokémon, but for once, they didn’t obey him.  Instead, they hovered together in the air where he had left him.  Both were making soft noises, and Poe realized they were talking about something.

“Rotom!” BB-8 was buzzing.  “Roooe, tum-tum!”

“Drif!” Celeste agreed, bobbing herself in the air like she was nodding.  As Poe looked back at them, bewildered, they even seemed to shake hands as Celeste lifted a heart to touch one of BB-8’s lightning-bolt appendages.

“What are you two doing?” Poe grumbled.  “I said, come _on_.”

“Foon!” squeaked Celeste—and then she floated briskly _away_ from him, after Ben.

“What—Celeste, get back here!” snapped Poe.  “You can’t—you can’t leave me too!”  He didn’t really think she would, but it certainly _seemed_ like the Drifloon was ditching him for the other trainer.

At Poe’s increasingly loud calls, Ben had paused and looked back to see what the commotion was about.  Celeste took the opportunity to close the remaining distance between them, and she darted forward.  Then, to Poe’s amazement and increasing horror, the Drifloon grasped Princess in her heart-shaped hands and lifted the Gothita off Ben’s shoulder.  Of course, Poe had heard all the rumors that Drifloons tried to abduct children and steal them away to the underworld, but he had never believed the tales, writing them off as campfire ghost stories.  Certainly, he had never imagined his Celeste as being capable of such a deed.  Yet here she was, holding little Princess just under her stubby arms and drifting off the route to carry the Gothita over the sparse grass to the south.

“Princess!” Ben cried.  He shot a glare at Poe.  “What the hell is that Drifloon of yours doing?  Make her bring Princess back!”

“ _I_ didn’t tell her to do that!” Poe snapped back.  “BB-8, what did you—ugh, never mind!” he broke off as the Rotom just gave him a grin glowing with electricity.  Poe took off after Celeste in a jog, shouting, “ _Celeste, you get back here!_ ”

At first, Princess had flailed her little arms and legs and cried, “Goth- _iiiiiii_!” in distress.  Celeste had squeaked something to her, however, and now the Gothita was oddly silent.  She even swung back and forth from Celeste’s strings a bit, like she was enjoying herself.

_BB-8 and Celeste plotted this!_ Poe thought as he pounded after the runaway Pokémon.  _And Princess is going along with it!_   He realized it must be some sort of scheme to keep him and Ben from separating, but at the moment, it was only embarrassing him.

“Celeste!” Poe yelled again as he chased the swift Drifloon.  BB-8 darted past Poe and caught up to the other two Pokémon.  They flew over a field full of scrubby plants and a few thin evergreens scattered about.  As Celeste carried Princess toward one of the trees, Poe heard Ben’s feet crunching behind him.

“Your stupid balloon is kidnapping my Pokémon!” Ben yelled.

“I _know_ that!”  Poe stopped short when he saw that Celeste wasn’t running away anymore.  Instead, she had floated up to one of the short branches of her chosen tree, and she now set Princess carefully down on it.  Celeste hovered to one side of the Gothita, and BB-8 guarded the other, making sure the little Pokémon didn’t fall.  Princess chirped and kicked her small feet in the air.  Poe panted for breath as he walked the rest of the way to the tree and stood beneath it, looking up at the three Pokémon.

“Get down from there,” he groaned.

“You heard him!” Ben scolded them from just behind Poe.  “Bring Princess back down!”  The three sets of round eyes—two blue pairs and one black—only gazed down at the two trainers as if the Pokémon had never seen them before.  Poe reached up and swiped at them, although he knew it was fruitless: he was far too short to reach the trio.  He looked back over his shoulder at Ben.

“Can you reach them?” Poe asked reluctantly.  He moved aside so Ben could take his place.  Even when the taller trainer stood on his toes, he couldn’t quite stretch far enough.  He and Poe looked at one another, Poe gazing upward and Ben downward.

“I, uh. . . I think we can reach them if you. . . get on my shoulders,” Ben murmured.

Poe felt his face grow warm.  “You know they did this on purpose.”

“I know,” Ben sighed.  He dropped to the ground in a crouch, now looking up at Poe instead of down, and continued in a resigned tone.  “Come on, get on.”

“Oh, all right.”  When Ben bent his head, Poe straddled his neck.  The taller trainer grasped Poe’s legs just above his knees and stood slowly so that Poe ended up sitting on his shoulders when Ben was upright again.  They wobbled a little then gained their balance, with Ben still holding Poe’s legs.

“Okay?” Ben asked.

“Yeah.”  Poe knew he was still blushing and was glad Ben couldn’t see his face.  “Get closer to the tree.  I think I can reach Princess.”  When Ben edged closer, Poe stretched his arms upward and lifted up a little bit toward the Gothita.

“Ugh, careful!” Ben warned him, gripping Poe’s legs tighter.  “Don’t fall!  You could hurt yourself.”

Touched by Ben’s concern for him, Poe muttered, “I—I won’t.  Just hang on to me.”  He reached a bit farther and was just able to close his hands around Princess’s little torso.  He snatched the giggling Pokémon down from the branch and set her on top of Ben’s head.

“There.”  Poe glared up at his own two Pokémon, who were still floating just above the branch and both smirking at him.  “I’ll deal with _you_ two later.  And Celeste, if you get anywhere near her again, I’ll tie your strings in a _knot_.”  The Drifloon only gave him a wide-eyed innocent look and a soft, “Flooooon.”

Ben let go of Poe to reach up and take Princess in his hands, which he lowered to let her hop out onto the ground.  Poe expected the taller trainer to crouch again so Poe could climb off of his shoulders, but Ben only returned his hands to Poe’s legs and gripped them.

“Hey, put me down,” Poe told him, squirming a little.

“No,” said Ben.

“What—?  I said, put me _down_ ,” Poe insisted, trying to kick Ben in the chest with his heel.  Ben grabbed his calves to hold him still.

“ _No_ ,” Ben muttered.  “Because if I don’t put you down, you can’t leave me.”  With that, Poe gave up on trying to stay angry at him.

“Ben. . . .”

“Poe, I wasn’t laughing at your Pokémon’s abilities, _or_ at you, not the way you think,” Ben blurted out.  “I laughed because—well, when you called out BB-8, I was expecting a little orange ball, not a _washing machine_.  You have to admit, he was funny-looking.  And then when Celeste wanted to fight, I certainly wasn’t laughing at _her_.  It was _you_ , getting bossed around by a Drifloon—it was so cute.”

“You thought it was cute?” grumbled Poe.  “I was so embarrassed.”

“Everything about you is cute.”  Ben leaned his head against Poe’s thigh.  “I never thought you could defeat me, and then when you did. . . I was so proud of you.”

“You—you were?  Proud of me?”

“Yeah.  Not just for how well you trained your Pokémon, but because. . . you _trust_ them.  When Celeste wanted to battle, you let her do it.  You defeated me because you believed in her.”  Ben’s hands squeezed Poe’s calves.  “I could learn a lot from you.  But—there are things you could learn from me, too, if you’d quit being so stubborn.”

“ _Me,_ stubborn?” Poe cried.  “ _You’re_ the stubborn one!  You’re the one holding me hostage because you can’t let me go!”

“And _you’re_ the one who waited for me all morning because _you_ can’t let _me_ go!”  Ben suddenly dropped to the ground then and bent his back as he pushed Poe off his shoulders.  Startled, Poe stumbled a little before regaining his balance, and he spun to face Ben when the taller trainer stood.

“I-I wasn’t waiting for you!” Poe tried to lie.  “I was—”  He gave up when he looked into Ben’s dark eyes and saw the way Ben was watching him.

“I wasn’t going to come at all,” Ben confessed after they had been silent a moment.  “I couldn’t keep hiding who I was from you—and I didn’t want to face it if you decided you didn’t want me, once you knew the truth.  But. . . but I couldn’t do that to you, either, and let you think I didn’t want to—to be with you.”  His deep voice had fallen to a mutter.  “So I came after you and hoped I could still catch up to you, if you had gone on without me.  I’m glad you hadn’t gone too far, so I at least got to see you one last time.”

Poe blinked hard then abruptly announced, “This is stupid.”

Ben’s eyes widened and took on a wounded look.  “What—what’s stupid?”

“ _Us_.”  Poe pounced on him and wrapped his arms around the other trainer’s broad chest, snuggling up against him.  He heard Ben draw in a hard breath; then Ben was holding him too.  “I want to be with you, and you want to be with me,” Poe mumbled against Ben’s chest.  “We’re _both_ stubborn, and proud, but—but we have to get over it, because we’re good for each other.  I know we are.”

“Poe. . . .”  Poe felt Ben’s cheek rest against his hair like when they’d camped together.  “Will you be honest with me?  If I am with you?”

“Yeah.”  Poe paused, then smirked. “You first, though.”

Ben exhaled in a laugh.  “Fine.  So I’m a Gym Leader.  But I really want to be a Breeder.  And I want to travel with you so I can meet people who’ll teach me how. . . and just so I can be with you,” he finished in a rush.  “Okay, your turn.”

“I have four Gym Badges, and I want to earn all eight.  And then I want to challenge the Elite Four, and maybe even try to be the region champion someday, all with one—well _two_ Pokémon.”  Poe took a breath and plowed on, “And I want you to come with me because you drive me crazy and I can’t think about anything else when you’re not with me.”

“While we’re being honest. . . I can’t either,” Ben returned in a whisper.  “I couldn’t sleep last night because I kept thinking about you, and I was kicking myself for not kissing you when I had you there in my gym.”

“I wish you had—I liked it when you kissed me out here,” Poe whispered back.  “While we’re being honest.  I liked it a lot.”

“And I liked kissing you.”  Ben had his lips to Poe’s ear.  “I wanted to kiss you when we were camping out and you put your arms around me.”

“You should have.”  Poe tilted his head up and turned it so his mouth was close to Ben’s.  “And if we’re still being honest with each other. . . I want to kiss you right now.”

Ben leaned his head further down so that his lips actually brushed Poe’s when he murmured, “Are you sure?  You’re not going to change your mind about me again?”

Poe had had enough teasing.  He reached one hand up to the back of Ben’s head, grabbed a handful of his silky hair, and held the other trainer still so Poe could kiss him.  Ben made a startled sound that faded into a moan as they kissed, first hard and fast, then slower and deeper.  Poe was vaguely aware that the three Pokémon were probably still watching them, but he decided that since the situation was basically BB-8 and Celeste’s fault, _they_ could explain the facts of life to Princess if she was confused by what she saw.

When Ben finally pulled his mouth away from Poe’s, he struggled to catch his breath.

“Poe, will you come back to the city with me?” he asked.  “If I’m coming with you, I’d better get some supplies.  I don’t want to hear you complaining the whole time about how underprepared I am.”

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to pull your own weight from now on.”  Poe grinned up at Ben, then rocked up on his toes to kiss the other boy one more time.  Poe grabbed Ben’s hand and looked up at his Pokémon, still hovering in the tree.  “Are you two going to behave?”

Both BB-8 and Celeste nodded, and the Rotom traced an X shape over his front: _cross my heart_.  Celeste looked at him, shrugged her strings, and drew her hand over the yellow X on her own face, too.  Ben leaned down to scoop up Princess and set her back on his shoulder.

“Gothi!” she cried cheerfully.  BB-8 zipped down from the tree and buzzed at her, making her giggle.

“Are you going to take all three of your battling Pokémon with you?” Poe asked Ben as they started back to Taiga City, still holding hands.  Ben shook his head.

“I’m going to leave them with the new Gym Leader—except for Bijou, the Sableye.”  Ben glanced down at Poe and smiled slightly.  “He’s a handful—”

“I noticed,” Poe smirked.

“—But he’s my strongest Pokémon.  If I put Princess into battle with him, she’ll get a lot of experience.  Between learning from him and BB-8, I think she’ll grow up strong.”  Ben grinned suddenly, making Poe’s heart flutter at how handsome he looked.  “And anyway, I think Bijou was rather impressed with Celeste.  He’s been asking about her.”

Poe chuckled, “I saw that wink he gave her.  You just make sure he treats my little girl properly.”  He looked up at Celeste, but she was busy playing with BB-8 as they floated along and hadn’t heard the conversation.  “So who’s the new Gym Leader going to be?”

“The last apprentice trainer you battled.  His name is Hux.”

Poe nodded, remembering the cold but skillful young man, and said, “He’ll be good at it, especially using your Pokémon.  You, uh, think he’ll take good care of them?”

“Yeah,” Ben murmured.  “I know he didn’t seem like it, but Hux really does care about Pokémon.”  He squeezed Poe’s hand.  “He’s been angling to take over the gym for a while now.  He won’t need any convincing.”

When they reached Taiga City again, it seemed completely different to Poe, now that he was walking up the street hand-in-hand with Ben.  He had thought they might attract attention, especially if anyone in town recognized Ben as the Gym Leader, but no one paid them much notice.  _Maybe he really has managed to keep his identity a secret,_ Poe thought.

Poe waited outside the gym while Ben went in; to both Poe and BB-8’s delight, Ben left Princess there with them.  Poe enjoyed watching the kind way his Rotom and Drifloon played with the younger Pokémon, but he also was happy because Ben trusted him enough to leave Princess in his care.  Ben reemerged from the gym sooner than Poe had expected, now with a bag on his shoulder and the smile Poe already loved on his face.

“You really are coming with me, aren’t you,” Poe stated, rather than asked, as he felt himself smile in response.

“Well, I _have_ to now.”  Ben bent his head and planted a kiss on Poe’s forehead.  “I couldn’t take back that Gym Leadership if I wanted to—not without a fight, anyway.”

“Good,” Poe declared.  “Although. . . do you want to wait and leave tomorrow morning, since it’s so late?  There’s no way we can make it to the next town tonight.”  He was surprised when Ben blushed a little.

“Y-yeah, I. . . um, actually, I was kind of hoping we could camp out again,” Ben mumbled.

“Really?” Poe grinned.  “You _want_ to camp out?”

Ben leaned down to whisper, “Yes, if it means I get to sleep with you in my arms again.  There’s a reason I didn’t pack a blanket.”  That time, Poe was the one who blushed.

Once they were out of the city and back on the route toward the next town, Ben let Bijou the Sableye out of his Poké Ball.  He proved to be an incorrigible flirt, trying to tug on Celeste’s strings and crooning, “Saaaable,” at her whenever she looked down at him from the air.  The Drifloon wasn’t quite sure how to react, and she kept glancing at Bijou shyly as they traveled.

“I guess you’re going to the gym in Alloy City next,” Ben said to Poe as they walked.

Poe nodded.  “Yeah, it’s the next city we’ll come to.  Do you know anything about the Gym Leader?”

“She uses steel-type Pokémon,” Ben told him.  “I’ve battled her before, and she’s pretty tough—I couldn’t beat her.”  He suddenly put his arm around Poe’s shoulders and squeezed them.  “You’ll be able to do it though, you and your Pokémon.”

Poe lifted his hand to close it over Ben’s on his upper arm as he told Ben, “I want to train Celeste first.  Will you help me?”

“Of course.”  Ben was quiet a moment then murmured, “You’re really going to start battling with her too?  What happened to being the guy who only uses one Pokémon?”

“I decided not to be so stubborn anymore,” Poe replied.  “There’s space in my life for Celeste—and it would be really empty without her.”  He leaned his head against their clasped hands.  “I. . . I think my life would be really empty without you, too.”

Ben stopped walking, jerking Poe to a halt by his hold on the smaller boy’s shoulders.  Poe gulped and looked up at him.

“Uh, did I say something wro—mmpgh!”  He was cut off by Ben’s mouth on his, kissing him soundly.  When Poe was able to speak again, albeit a bit dazed, he gazed up at Ben and breathed, “I guess I said something _right_.”  Ben was blushing a little, but he smiled. 

“It was the nicest thing anyone’s ever told me,” he said, “and I feel the same way about you, Poe.”  He let Poe go and started walking again, leaving the shorter trainer to hurry and catch up.

_I could fall in love with you,_ Poe thought, watching how Ben walked and the way he unconsciously brought his hand up to pat Princess from time to time.  Bijou was running down the route a bit ahead of them, chasing Celeste and BB-8 who darted through the air just out of his reach.  The two trainers and their four Pokémon made an odd-looking group, but as Poe drew even with Ben and walked on at his side, he decided the six of them were perfect together.

\--

The End


End file.
